Twister spindles



June 11, 1957 Qua/62 INVENTOR- MBrown Jaw/(1W ATTORNEY United States Patent TWISTER SPINDLES Hugh M. Brown, Clemson, S. C., assignor to Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina, Clemson, S. C., a corporation of South Carolina Application July 11, 1955, Serial No. 520,998

3 Claims. (Cl. 57-58.72)

This invention relates to improvements in twister spindles of the character employed for imparting twist to one or more yarns or strands.

It is customary to impart twist to one or more yarns, usually several yarns, to form a cord or cable having greater strength than the individual yarns. Most twister spindles used heretofore have usually imparted but one or two turns of twist per revolution of the spindle. This limits the production, since twister speed is governed by various limiting factors.

I have found that it is possible to impart more than two turns of twist to yarns for each revolution of the spindle. I thus materially increase the output of a machine operating with a given power inputand at specified spindle speeds. This invention eliminates spooling and retwisting operations in the production of yarns, cords, cables, etc.

A broad object of this invention is to' improve the construction of a twister spindle to apply a plurality (more than two) of twists to filar material for each revolution of the spindle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a twister for multiple (more than two) twists which is simple and rugged in structure, convenient to manufacture, and practical in use.

Th device of this invention is basically related to the well known two-for-one type twisters. In such twisters, a spool having a supply of yarn thereon is maintained against rotation and a loop of yarn or filamentary material from the supply is revolved about the supply and is led to a suitable take-up, which may be a spooler or another twister. In such twisters it is essential that the spindle be tubular or be so constructed as to permit the yarn to travel axially of the spindle in the course of the loop forming and revolving operation. My invention departs from such constructions in providing means for rotating the supply of yarn during the loop revolving operation.

One suitable form of twister according to the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is an axial section through the spindle of the twister; and

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

In Fig. 1, numeral represents a suitable frame, support or spindle rail for supporting one or more spindle assemblies generally represented by numeral 12. Each spindle assembly includes a tubular spindle 14 mounted in conventional antifriction bearings 16 and 18 suitably retained by support 10. On the spindle 14 above the level of support 10, there is mounted an anitfriction bearing 20, the outer race 22 of which constitutes a pulley, the purpose of which will appear later. Between the bearings 16 and 18, a whorl 24 is mounted on spindle 14 and is rotated by means of a suitable belt 26 which passes about a conventional drive pulley or drum, not shown.

Mounted on the spindle 14 below bearing 20 is a disc 28 which rotates in an opening 30 in the support 16. Near the periphery of disc 28 there is provided a tubular post 32 provided at its upper end with an integral arm 34 having a yarn guide eye 36 at its outer end. The disc 28, post 32, arm 34 and eye 36 constitute a twister arm mounted on spindle 14. A pulley 38is rotatably mounted on the post 32 for a purpose which will later appear. Near the periphery of the disc 28,0pposite the pulley 38 there is provided a counterweight 46 attached to the disc 28 by means of a screw 42, to counterbalance the weight of post 32 and the parts associated therewith.

Attached to or integral with the outer race of bearing 20 there is a second tubular spindle member 44, axially aligned with the spindle 14. The spindle member 44 is provided at its lower end with a shoulder 46 adapted to support a bobbin or spool 48 carrying a supply of yarn or other suitable filar material 50.

A ring 52 having a flange 54 is mounted on the support and is axially aligned with the opening 30 coaxially of the spindle 14. A flexible belt 56 is passed about pulleys 22 and 38 and is made of sufficient length that one bight thereof will lie against the inner periphery of ring 52 as at 58. The driven spindle 14 is provided with a guide opening 60 on the same side of its axis as the tubular post 32. Above the spindle assembly and aligned with the spindle 14 there is provided a yarn guide 62 of conventional construction.

The operation of my twister will now be described. The spindle 14 is rotated at a desired speed by belt 56 which causes disc 28 to rotate, revolving the post 32 and the guide 36 about the spindle axis. A yarn y is led from the supply 50 over the spool or bobbin head Stand down through tubular member 44 and spindle l4, outwardly through guide 60 to post 32. The yarn passes upwardly through the post 32 and laterally through the guide 36, thence upwardly to the guide 62. From the guide 62 the yarn passes to a suitable take up or winder, which forms no part of my invention and is, therefore, not shown or described. If the member 44, carrying the bobbin 48 were to remain stationary or non-rotatable, the device as described would impart two twists to the yarn y between the top of the member 44 and the guide 62 as is well known in this art. Rotation of the disc 28 in the direction of the arrow a (Fig. 2) creates centrifugal force on belt 56 causing the belt to ride against the pulley 38 and against ring 52 at 58. Due to the frictional contact with the fixed ring 52, the belt is pulled in the direction of the arrow b when disc 28 rotates in the direction (a). This pull on belt 56 rotates the pulley 22 in the direction of the arrow 0, thereby rotating the bobbin 48 containing the yarn supply 50 in the opposite direction from that of the twister arm. The rotation of the supply 50 adds to the twisting e'lfect above described and there is thus produced a twister assembly which imparts more than two twists for each revolution of the spindle 14. The number of extra twists imparted is a function of the relative diameters of the pulley Z2 and the ring 52, and may be varied by changing this ratio. The driving belt 56 which is mounted upon and rotates with the disc 28 and connects the pulley 46 with the ring 52 comprises a speed multiplying transmission means for rotating the pulley 46 at a greater speed of rotation than that of spindle 14.

Centrifugal force acting on the yarn y causes it to balloon outwardly in a loop between the guide 36 and the guide 62. The size of the balloon" is a function of the weight of the yarn and the speed of the disc 28, and can be controlled to some extent by the interposition of suitable tension devices, the use of such devices being well known in this art.

I have used the term yarn" in connection with the fications may be made within the skill of the artisan, and

within the purviewof the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A yarn twister device comprising a first rotary member mounted for rotation on a vertical axis, a yarn guide eye mounted upon said rotary member at a location spaced laterally from said axis, a second rotary member mounted above said first rotary member for rotation about said axis and forming a support for a packageof yarn, both of said rotary members being apertured along said vertical axis so that yarn may be passed from said package down through both rotary members and out to said guide eye, driving means for rotating said first rotary member in one direction, a pulley carried by said secondrotary member' concentric with said axis and having a smooth external cylindrical surface, a fixed ring surrounding said pulley and having a smooth internal cylindrical surface concentric with and axially over-lapping the external cylindrical surface of said' pulley, and frictional driving means carried by said first rotary member and frictionally interconnecting the internal surface of said fixed ring and the external surface of said pulley for driving said second rotary member in the opposite direction with respect to said firstrotary member and at a greater speed than said first rotary member.

2. In a twister spindle assembly having a spindle support, the combination of a vertical tubular spindle rotatably mounted on the support and having a lateral out- 4 let opening intermediate its ends for movement of yarn downwardly through the spindle and laterally therefrom, means for rotating the spindle, a disc mounted on the spindle above said outlet opening, a vertical tubular post on the disc adjacent the periphery thereof and radially aligned with the lateral outlet opening and providing an aperture for guiding yarn from said outlet opening to the upper side of said disc, a pulley journalled on said post, a tubular bobbin support axially aligned with said spindle, a pulley on said bobbin support, a ring mounted on the spindle support concentric with said pulley, and a belt passing about the pulleys and frictionally engaging the inner periphery of the ring to rotate the bobbin support upon rotation of said disc.

3. In a twister spindle assembly having a spindle support, the combination of a tubular spindle rotatably mounted on the support, a disc coaxially mounted on said spindle normal to the axis thereof, a pulley eccentrically mounted on said disc,,rneans for rotating the spindle and disc, a tubular bobbin support rotatably mounted on, the upper end of the spindle and axially aligned therewith, a pulley mounted on the bobbin support, a fixed ring mounted on the spindle support coaxial with the spindle, and a belt passing about said pulleys and frictionally engaging the inner periphery of the ring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,949,621 Pool Mar. 6, 1934 2,511,639 Koella June 13, 1950 2,638,732 Sabaton May 19, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 572,431 Germany Mar. 15, 1933 913,970 France H June 11, 1946 

